This Crime
by Alexiel Reborn
Summary: Cloud shows up badly injured and two stubborn men finally come to terms with their feelings towards each other, but not without some serious tension. CloudxLeon Set during KH2 in Hallow Bastion.
1. Chapter 1

This Crime

The Hollow Bastion restoration team had been making very little progress lately. It always seemed that there were way too many Heartless sticking around and causing trouble for them ever to finish in the allotted time. As a result, Leon had been growing annoyed. The only thing that calmed him was knowing that he could expect the same routine every morning.

Leon was usually the first one to rise in the morning. There was something about the quiet before dawn that he liked. He would silently fix himself a cup of coffee and begin his morning ritual. Sometimes Cloud, who had a habit of disappearing for weeks on end without word, would be sitting on the stoop when Leon would go out to watch the sunrise. The two of them would sit in mutual silence as Leon sipped his coffee and the entire world around them woke.

Aerith usually rose about this time. Depending on if Cloud was there, Leon would cook breakfast with Aerith's help. When Cloud was there, it was a known fact that Leon would sit outside long after his coffee had gone and Aerith would be forced to cook breakfast without him. When the first comment had been made about this behavior, Leon had reacted rather stiffly and he had been irritable for the rest of the day. Since then comments were restrained.

As was the usual event of the day, the smell of breakfast would wake the other sleepyheads. Since oftentimes their wizard friend, whose house they happened to be occupying, was not home because of traveling reasons, it was just the restoration team. Everyone would assemble in the kitchen and grab his or her food with sleepy faces.

After their quick meal, Leon would briefly described what was the goal for today. He never made his speeches long because he usually liked to stave off from speaking overly much. Of course this was typically followed by an agglomeration of groans, complaints, and arguments. Leon would calmly take control until everyone was satisfied. That was when the work would begin.

Yet, this particular morning was quite as customary.

Leon woke exceptionally ill-tempered. He had had some rather bizarre dreams that he didn't quite feel like admitting to having, even to himself. This had put him slightly on edge and he tried to brush away the memory but to no avail. He frowned as he sat up in bed. He shouldn't be having dreams about _that _person. It didn't make sense. Nevertheless, Leon was determined to remain as stoic as possible, regardless of the irregularity of his slumber.

Leon was glad to find that when he took his first sip of coffee he felt the tension slowly ease from his body. The morning was just beginning outside and he could hear the sounds of the town slowly awaking around him. So far that part of his morning seemed normal until he went to make his way outside. When he tried to open it, it protested as though something on the outside was blocking it.

"Wha?" Leon asked, confused. He pushed against the pressure until he was able to slip through the crack in the door.

The last thing he expected to see was Cloud lying in a pool of sticky blood, and it took Leon a second to really register the groaning body staring up at him with dim blue eyes. A number of curses left Leon's mouth as he bent down and brushed his hands across the blond looking for wounds that he could injure if he moved the smaller man.

"What happened?" Leon asked gruffly as he found nothing beyond deep gashes and lifted the trembling man into his arms.

Cloud winced and tried to pull away from Leon's strong grip. "I can…walk, you know." He managed to gasp in protest, his eyes closing as he waited for his body to readjust to the pain.

"Sure you can. That's exactly why you're lying out here instead of coming inside," Leon replied dryly, not at all amused by Cloud's obstinacy.

Cloud did not respond, but a faint blush covered his pale cheeks as Leon carried him inside. Thankfully Aerith was just rising at that time and saw Leon hauling in the bloody mess that was Cloud. She gasped and instantly crossed over to them.

"Set him down on the couch." She quickly instructed as she cleared some stray books from its surface. By the time Leon had placed Cloud on the couch he had already silently passed out.

"Help me get his clothes off." Aerith murmured quietly. "I need to be able to see his wounds to heal them correctly."

Leon was rather grateful that the man had passed out because he knew that Cloud wouldn't have allowed himself to be stripped of his grubby clothes so easily and probably would've proceeded to make his injuries much worse by struggling.

"What happened to him?" Aerith exclaimed in horror upon the revelation of multiple gashes across Cloud's chest and numerous ones trailing down his legs.

Leon did not answer. He was too busy measuring up the damage with a stern look on his face.

"I can heal the majority of the wounds, but I can't do much about the blood lost so far. I'm afraid he's going to have a rough time." She whispered fearfully before she concentrated on casting a healing spell.

Leon watched as the wounds slowly sewed themselves back together under the glow of Aerith's magic. Cloud's body was shivering feverishly now and when Aerith finished her spell the pallor of his skin had still not left.

"We should probably move him somewhere where he can rest more comfortably before the others awake," she announced tiredly as she pulled a blanket tight around Cloud's body.

"He can rest in my room," Leon stated. It was the logical choice after all since he was the only one that wasn't sharing a room at the moment. Aerith nodded and Leon rose from where he had been kneeling next to Cloud's body.

"Oh and Leon," Aerith whispered as he lifted Cloud's limp body once again into his arms. Leon looked up at her blushing face in question. "Would you lend him some of your clothes until I have his washed and fixed?"

Leon nodded quickly as he remembered that the blanket-covered Cloud was almost completely naked underneath. He tried not to let a small blush cover his own cheeks as well as he made his way upstairs.

With a sigh Leon pushed open his bedroom door with his shoulder and laid his burden down onto his bed. He should probably get the shivering man into some clothes first. He quickly grabbed a pair of boxers and one of his spare t-shirts from his drawers and eased them onto Cloud's lean body. The blond certainly didn't have much on him, was Leon's thought. It looked as if Cloud hadn't been eating properly in years. Even still he still managed to hold onto a certain beauty that Leon couldn't help to admire.

'He has so many scars littering his body though,' Leon noticed as he gently traced one of the more brilliant scars along his torso. Shaking his head lightly, Leon finished pulling the t-shirt on the blond and pulled the covers up around Cloud's body. He could hear the sounds of Yuffie reluctantly being woken up next door and movement from in the hallway, but he ignored it. All he could really focused on was Cloud's pained slumbering face.

"What kind of mess did you get yourself into this time?" Leon murmured softly, letting his fingertips to wander to the soft skin of Cloud's face.

"You should let him rest," came a timid voice from the doorway. Leon looked up, startled from his reverie. Aerith was standing in the doorway watching him with an odd look on her face, her hands grasped tightly together. He hastily jerked his hand away from Cloud's faced and tried to regain his stoic posture.

Leon stood, casting one last long look at Cloud's face before striding from the room, trying to look as composed as ever. He couldn't help but note the sigh that escaped Aerith's mouth as he left, and he watched from the corner of his eye as she quickly approached Cloud, her hands trembling.

That's right. He had forgotten that Aerith just happened to be in love with that man. Even though Leon's steadily growing friendship with the blond meant a lot to him (whether he'd admit it or not), he knew that Aerith and Cloud had some sort of history with other and he should respect that. Cloud's health was rather iffy at this point in time and he should respect Aerith's feelings and let her be with him. Still Leon couldn't help but feel an odd ache in his heart that told him he didn't want to leave.

:-:-:

Cloud woke feeling weak, but at least the majority of his pain had ceased. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light pouring from the bedroom window. Where exactly was he?

He sat up in the middle of an unfamiliar bed and looked cautiously around. This room smelled somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He took a moment to inspect the room for signs of others. A chair was sitting next to the bed and Cloud surmised that someone had probably been sitting there watching him. His eyes trailed across the room to find it was sparsely furnished and very little personal possessions seemed to be lying out. Whoever stayed in this room was meticulously tidy. His blue eyes fixated on the one item that seemed to be out of place, a leather jacket thrown somewhat hastily onto a dresser.

"Squall…"he whispered, it all connecting. The smell, the organized bedroom, the jacket, they were all Squall's, or Leon's rather.

Cloud flipped the blankets off his body only to realize that he didn't even have his own clothing. Those belonged to Squall as well. He frowned. Did this mean that Squall had seen him naked? A light blush covered his cheeks and he was less than amused. It wasn't as if he were overly conscious about his body, but it bothered him somehow, as though Squall especially should not be seeing him exposed.

Cloud swung his feet to edge of the bed, intent on getting out of this room, but his vision was blurry and disoriented. He inferred that he had probably lost quite a lot of blood for his body to be this feeble. But, just how had he gotten this way in the first place? Why had he waken up in Squall's bed and clothes?

He searched his hazy memories for the answer. He remembered something about being in a lot of pain. A battle of some sorts, perhaps? It had probably been with Sephiroth. He always received a multitude of horrendous injuries after a clash with that bastard. He remembered searching for Squall because for some reason his body had been telling him to. Apparently that had been the right choice since he was obviously alive, but…where was the man in question?

Cloud was just pondering if he should attempt standing when he heard the door being violently flung open and he was forcefully shoved back onto the bed with a heavy thing weighing down on his chest.

"Cloud!" was the loud cry that followed.

"Yuffie, be careful of his wounds!" he heard Aerith's scolding voice from the doorway.

"Sorry, Cloud!" Yuffie said meekly, quickly climbing off of him. "I was just so worried about you when I heard from Aerith what happened that I couldn't help it!" Yuffie rambled at him.

Cloud gave her an annoyed looked and pushed away the helping hand she tried to give him. He didn't like other people touching him and that was a pretty much accepted fact. It seemed that Yuffie had failed to recognize that every time though.

"Where's Squall?" Cloud heard himself asking though he didn't realize why. It just seemed to be the evident thing to ask. He was after all in Squall's room.

"It's Leon, you know." Came an emotionless reply from the brunette as he sauntered up to the doorway to stand next to Aerith.

"You should really be lying down, Cloud." Aerith said nervously as she crossed over to him and placed her hand lightly on his forehand. Cloud tried not to flinch for her sake, but he could see the hurt in her eyes as he shied away from her touch.

"Your fever seems to be gone, but you should still rest more. My healing spell couldn't quite fix everything…"

Cloud tuned her concerned babble out. He appreciated her caring, really, but he just wanted to be out of here. He didn't like people fawning over him. He stood shakily on his feet and crossed the room. He glared as Squall reached out and tried to assist him.

Squall gave him an odd look, but retracted. Cloud ignored the other's apprehensive glances as he made his way gradually down the hallway. Damn, why was his vision so lousy? His steps slowed to nearly a halt as he felt his legs shake uncontrollably.

"Shit!" He exclaimed as they gave out on him and he found himself once again lying down. His breathing became irregular again as he wheezed for more oxygen. Shit, shit, shit! What _had_ happened to him?

"Need some help?" came a smug voice from above him. He hated the way Squall was looking down at him with such a satisfied look on his face, so much so that he didn't notice the tinge of worry in those eyes.

"Ass…hole…"He spat between gasps. Nevertheless, he allowed Squall's strong grip to pull him back up and carry him back to bedroom.

He felt utterly humiliated to have to be hauled back to bed, in Squall's arms no less. He turned his head so he didn't have to look into the faces of his worried friends.

"Really Cloudy, you don't have to be so stubborn. You're just as mulish as Squall!" Yuffie teased from his bedside.

"It's Leon, and I'm not mulish!" Squall interjected indignantly, but he was promptly ignored.

"Yuffie's right, Cloud." Aerith stated as she pulled the blankets back on Cloud's body. "Pushing yourself at this point is only going to make your healing take longer."

"The kid should probably just get some more sleep." Came a new voice. Cloud looked up again to see that Cid had entered holding a cup of coffee in his hand and grimacing. "Wow, you really _do _look like shit."

"Thanks." Cloud responded dryly, crossing his arms and trying to look as offended as possible.

Cid chuckled. "At least yer in one piece, eh? I'm sure Leon would have a fit if you up and died on us."

Cloud looked up curiously at Squall at this statement. This was a new bit of new information to him. Squall was currently giving his death glare in Cid's direction while mimicking the posture that Cloud had just been giving him.

"I would _not,_" Squall retorted, his eyes flashing.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as Cid positively beamed with amusement.

"Ah well, we'll see about that." Cid murmured before he left the room.

"I have to go…um…feed the chickens." Squall muttered before he stalked angrily after the older man.

Yuffie turned to Aerith. "Hey, do we even have chickens?"

Aerith frowned. "Well, no."

Cloud couldn't help but let a small smile slip onto his lips.

* * *

Note: Yes, I chose Aerith over Aeris. Yes, Cloud refers to Leon as Squall so the entire second part calls him Squall. 


	2. Chapter 2

:-:-:

The week passed incredibly slowly for Cloud, who was bedridden for the majority of that time. His body was very weak and didn't respond well to Aerith's healing. They weren't sure why, but Cloud was sure that it had something to do with Sephiroth. He had been having recurring nightmares that sapped all of his strength from him, not to mention prevented him from getting much sleep. Luckily, Aerith had not found out about these nightmares because he appreciated what she was trying to do for him, but he knew it wasn't good for him to spend too long here.

Though he was able to hide his nightmares from the others, he couldn't hide them from Squall since he was sharing a room with the man. Cloud had tried to let Squall take his bed back, but the man had refused and he slept on a cot that was set up on the opposite side of the room. Squall often ended up shaking Cloud from his sleep after a particularly bad dream that he had not been able to escape from. Cloud was rather embarrassed about it, but Squall had said nothing. He merely looked impassive as he made sure that Cloud was no longer writhing around in his sheets. Cloud would have never guessed that after he had fallen back into an uneasy sleep that Squall would rise again to make sure that the blonde wasn't being plagued again.

And so the week continued. Cloud was left alone inside for much of the day while the others left to work on the castle. He had wanted to go and help them, as he sometimes did when he stayed for a few days, but Aerith would not allow it. She would give him a pleading look and, well, he couldn't say no to her. After all, he was supposed to be in love with her. He said 'supposed' because he wasn't quite sure anymore.

Lately, a lot of things had been changing. With the worlds being slowly sucked in darkness, he'd been assisting Sora and trying to find that bastard, Sephiroth again. He'd begun to think of Aerith less and less, and though he appreciated the love she showed to him, he wasn't quite sure that it meant anything anymore. Cloud just couldn't find love anywhere in his heart, for anyone or anything. He was too obsessed with darkness and he wasn't sure Aerith's light could save him anymore.

So, Cloud was subjected to boredom as he waited in the house for the others to return. It wasn't like he had to stay, after all, it wasn't like they were tying him down here. It was just…Cloud felt that there was something very comforting here, even though he couldn't quite place it. It was something that he hadn't been able to find on his journey, so he had relented and obeyed to their requests, not quite knowing why he was.

His patience was rewarded when at the end of the week Aerith mentioned that it would probably be good for him to start getting outside and maybe having some practice sessions with Leon to gain back his strength.

That was how Cloud found himself dodging as the infamous Gunblade came whirling towards his head.

"Be careful, boys!" Aerith called after the two eager men that had jumped at chance for a real challenge. Not that they'd ever admit that they were excited about fighting one another.

Cloud winced as the Gunblade grated against his buster sword, but nonetheless adrenaline was pumping through his veins. Squall was definitely a worthy opponent and if Cloud was able to beat him, while he was still relatively weak, he'd really wipe that smirk off that jerk's face.

"You're feisty today." Squall commented, an impassive look on his face.

Cloud looked at him weirdly and pushed his weight forward, forcing Squall to give ground.

"What do you mean? I'm always like this in battle." Cloud said, as Squall shifted his weight and stepped to the side, forcing Cloud to tip slightly forward. Cloud was only out of balance for a second before Squall's sword was rushing back at him.

Cloud quickly parried it and regained his balance.

"Well, I was surprised that such a skinny guy like you could even pick up that sword, so I figured you wouldn't be that great at wielding it," was Squall's curt response.

Cloud gritted his teeth. "Don't underestimate me."

He swung his sword and it meet Squall's with a loud clang that rang out across the practice yard. Cloud was just getting more frustrated with that jerk. Why did he insist on having conversations on the battlefield of all places?

"Oh, I don't underestimate you. Just remembering how badly you got beat up by the last guy you battle." Squall's words were nearly lost in the whirling of his sword cutting through the air, but Cloud still caught them.

Anger pulsed hotly through his veins. "Don't talk about things you don't understand." Cloud snapped, suddenly propelled by much more force than he was before. Squall grinned as he saw the anger overcome Cloud's actions and this just pissed the blonde off more.

The talking ceased as their battle become more heated. It wasn't long before Squall gained the upper hand, knocking Cloud's buster sword from his grip with a resounding clang. Cloud let out a frustrated growl and he sprang to pick it up, but Squall had been faster. He dropped his gunblade and grabbed Cloud's wrists pinning him against the side of a nearby house.

"Maybe I would understand if you talked to me." Squall said, panting to regain his breath.

Cloud gave him a hateful glare. He detested being in anyone's control like this. He shivered and looked away from Squall's eyes. It reminded him too much of…

"Cloud…" Squall demanded. He seemed very angry now and Cloud wasn't exactly why. He didn't have the right to be angry, he was the one mouthing off about Cloud.

"Since when have you wanted to talk to me? It's not like I really know you, so why would I tell you a thing about my life?" As soon as the words left Cloud's mouth he knew he probably shouldn't have said them, but he was still very much controlled by his impulses.

Squall recoiled and instantly dropped Cloud's wrists as if he had been burned.

"Because, I want to know you, if only you'd stop being a jackass and just tell me." Squall responded.

Cloud gave him a confused look. He wasn't making any sense at all. "So, I'm the jackass now, Squall?" he responded, not quite knowing what else to say.

"It's Leon." Squall insisted, stiffening.

"Why though? What made you change your name?" Cloud insisted, turning the questioning on Squall.

"I don't want to talk about that." Squall mumbled, knowing that Cloud had cornered him.

"Exactly." Cloud stated, ending the argument and turning to exit the practice field. He was stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder jerk him to a halt.

"Don't…I…" Squall mumbled, and Cloud turned around to see an odd expression on Squall's face. He looked, pained. Cloud felt something odd inside him being drawn towards it. Maybe it was his own darkness that he saw mirrored in Squall's eyes.

"Why…" Cloud began, not quite sure that he knew what he was asking as he gently lifted his hand to cup Squall's cheek and ran his thumb lightly against his skin. Squall seemed to be startled by the touch, but leaned into Cloud's hand his eyes closing.

"Cloud…" Squall murmured before he slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to Cloud's.

Cloud watched him, not quite getting Squall's intentions until he felt warm heat on his lips. Cloud instantly shoved Squall away, yelping.

"What the hell are you doing?" He wiped his hands across his lips, watching as Squall paled considerably.

"That's what I want to know," came a shaky voice from across the practice yard. Both men turned to see Aerith standing there, her hands clenched tightly together and she looked to be near tears.

"Aerith!" Cloud instantly said, feeling shame overcome him.

"It's not…" Squall began to explain, but Aerith didn't wait for an explanation. She quickly ran off with Cloud on her heels, leaving Squall very much alone.

:-:-:

Leon was sulking by the time that Cid found him sitting on a ledge in the Bailey. It wasn't like Cid particularly wanted to go and find Leon when he was being stubborn and irritable, but he had been pressured into going by Yuffie. Apparently something had happened that had caused Aerith to lock herself up in her room crying, and Cloud to mysteriously disappear, so he was supposed to get to the bottom of this and have a 'guy talk' with Leon to figure out what the fight was about. In all truth, Cid was pretty sure what it was about, but he wasn't about to tell Yuffie that.

Leon was rather mad at himself right now, though he tried not to show it when Cid came ambling up to where he sat.

"So, what'd you do now kid?" The older man asked, sighing. "Must've been big if you caused such a

large stir with the others."

Leon grunted, insisting on ignoring his comments. He didn't quite feel like divulging on what an idiot he had been. Yet after a few moments he felt himself to begin to talk.

"I kissed him." He stated curtly, his eyes unable to look into Cid's. To his surprise Cid let out a small chuckle.

"I always had a feeling you swung that way," Cid said, a huge grin on his face.

Leon was less than pleased. "I'm **not** gay." He insisted adamantly, glaring daggers at Cid.

Cid was not fazed. "Then why didya do it?"

Leon looked confused. "Because…well…" He could not come up with an answer. Why _had _he kissed Cloud? They weren't even that close of friends. Leon shivered as he thought about the blonde, weird feelings stirring up in his chest that he certainly did not want.

"Well," Cid said knowing that there was nothing he could really say to help the brunette, "I'll leave yah alone to think about it." And with that he left.

"I'm really not gay, ok!" Leon called after him vainly, but he had a feeling that Cid would not believe him no matter what he said.

:-:-:

:-:-:

:-:-:

:-:-:

**Author's note: **Alexiel loves and appreciates everyone who reviewed and smiles that they liked her story regardless of the lack of plot. She thinks that Leon has a sexy ass and she can't wait to put that in the story too. Love for all of you!

Also she must admit that she's never actually played FFVII or FFVIII, so she may end up screwing up some of the character history. Gomen! She also notices this chapter was shorter, but she is tired. Besides, she should probably stop rambling right now.


	3. Chapter 3

:-:-:

By the time Leon returned later that evening an odd silence had covered the restoration group. Aerith had finally come out of her room and was sitting on the couch, pointedly ignoring Leon. He didn't blame her though. If he had just walked in on her and Cloud kissing, even if Cloud hadn't quite responded quite positively, he would've be upset. Wait, no he wouldn't. He didn't like Cloud like that!

Leon sighed and shook his head. Why weren't things like they normally were? He didn't like or appreciate the confusion and tension in these past days. He wondered absentmindedly where Cloud had gone, but he didn't dare ask while Aerith was in the room. After all, she was his friend and it wasn't like he didn't care about her. He was actually feeling very guilty for what he had done, but his pride didn't let him apologize. Instead, Leon trudged wearily up to his room.

He laid down on his bed with a sigh and stared at his ceiling. He hadn't slept in his bed for quite a while since Cloud had been occupying it. It smelled oddly, but in a comforting way. He relaxed back into the pillow, taking in the scent for a few moments trying to figure out why it smelled like that before he quickly jumped up.

"Cloud." He said, annoyed with himself. Of course that's who it smelled like since the man had been sleeping in his bed for the past week.

"I wonder what those nightmares were about." Leon wondered aloud, relaxing back into the bed. He was too lazy to change the sheets, or that's at least what he told himself.

Leon figured the dreams must've been about Sephiroth, since he seemed to be Cloud's ultimate enemy. Leon knew very little about the guy, so personally he didn't know how frightening he could be. I mean, yeah he's super strong and all that shit, but surely not enough so that he'd give a man nightmares?

Leon rolled over and buried his face into the pillow, feeling rather exasperated with himself. He really should be getting work done instead of hiding up here in his room and thinking about Cloud. Thinking about Cloud made him uncomfortable, but it was hard not to when he could smell the man all around him.

When he really thought about it, he was slightly annoyed at Cloud. Although he knew that men weren't really supposed to kiss each other, Cloud didn't have to react like _that_. Leon didn't think of himself as being particularly ugly and he prided himself on being quite a decent kisser, so why had Cloud acted like it was disgusting? The more Leon thought about it, the more upset he became.

He didn't have much more time to ponder before he heard a knock on his door. He grunted and rolled over, intent on ignoring whoever was at the door. That person obviously wasn't going to stand for it because Yuffie came barging in, regardless of being welcomed or not.

"Squally, you should really apologize to Aerith." Yuffie whined, poking him in the side.

"Leon. And I have nothing to apologize for." He muttered, turning to glare darkly at her. Her poking instantly halted.

She pouted at him. "You're so mean. You know Aerith likes Cloud, so you should find a different boyfriend."

"I do NOT want a boyfriend. I am NOT gay." Leon practically yelled, exasperated.

Yuffie gave him a strange look. "Well, then why'd you kiss him?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

"I…well…" Leon muttered, not quite knowing how to explain himself. He trusted her because she had grown to be like a little sister to him. "I was annoyed at him…and he was making me angry so…"

"So, you kissed him?" Yuffie asked incredulously. A small grin was forming on her lips. "Aww, Squally, I think you really do like him."

Leon glared at her, but it was quite ineffective seeing as a blush was covering his cheeks. "No, I don't. That's what I've been trying to tell everyone."

Yuffie looked at him, suddenly mischief in her eyes. Leon feared what she was about to say.

"That's just it! I'll have to get you two together, after all!" she said triumphantly as if she were making some profound statement.

Leon was taken aback. "No, I don't want to be with him, and what about Aerith? Weren't you just demanding that I go apologize to her?"

Yuffie looked sorrowful. "I'm not completely oblivious. I can tell that Cloud's feelings for her have gone…and I know Aerith can tell too. She's just…in denial…and she really needs to get over him. And well, I didn't want you playing around with Cloud if you didn't like him…"

Leon looked confused. "Cloud doesn't love Aerith? Since when?"Leon winced when he noticed how eager his voice sounded. Damn it, he wasn't doing a very good job of proving the truth.

There was an irritating smirk on Yuffie's face, but she knew better than to comment. "For a while now…Anyway, I guess I'll have to wait till Cloud returns to put my plan into motion…" she started, but Leon interrupted her.

"Cloud left?" he asked, startled.

Yuffie nodded. "Yeah, all his things are gone, so we figured…" She patted Leon on the shoulder. "Don't worry. He'll be back, I know he will. "

"I wasn't worried," Leon snapped and rolled over on the bed so he wasn't facing Yuffie anymore. He couldn't stop the sinking feeling in his chest though. Cloud must be very angry at him right now.

:-:-:

Two weeks passed without word from the young blonde. Leon was irritable as ever and threw himself into rebuilding part of the castle wall. Many of the others grumbled about the amount of work, but the results were rather impressive. Nonetheless, everyone was rather glad when Sora showed up for a visit.

They welcomed Sora and his strange talking duck and dog as well. Sora could tell something was wrong with Leon, but it wasn't until the evening did he get a chance to talk with the older man.

It was just after a meal that Merlin had magicked up for them (Merlin had a habit of appearing home almost instantaneously after Sora arrived), and everyone had been happily chatting. Well, everyone except Leon. Leon did not 'happily chat' and he certainly didn't want to do it with these people. Aerith had not spoken one word to him since the incident, Yuffie seemed to only want to talk to him about her schemes to get him and Cloud together, and Cid generally tried to be neutral, so he said very little to Leon. Sora was much too busy explaining his latest adventure, so that only left the two talking animals. Leon shivered. They seriously crept him out.

The meal concluded and Sora and his friends were offered a room (Leon's room) for the night. Sora quickly accepted, tired from his long journey. Leon couldn't help but notice the young boy looked significantly skinner and worn from the last time he had laid eyes on him. It really did look like something was bothering him.

Leon was rather surprised when the boy approached him as they were preparing for bed. Leon was just fetching a blanket and a pillow for himself, seeing as he'd been kicked out of his own room by the others that insisted on giving it to Sora and his talking animals, and he hadn't expected Sora to ask him 'to have a talk'.

Leon sat down on the bed next to the young boy and watched as Sora politely asked his friends to leave him alone for a moment.

"You know you can tell anything to us, Sora." The duck said in a rather irritating voice that grated on Leon's nerves. He seriously didn't understand how the boy could put up with these people…err…animals…whatever!

"Yeah, Sora. We're all friends." Said the dog, patting Sora on the shoulder. Sora smiled gratefully at them and shook his head. They nodded and left the room.

Leon gazed uncomfortably at the young boy. He'd really grown quite a lot in the past year or so. When he really thought about, he really didn't know Sora all that well. He'd changed a lot from the scared boy he had first met in Traverse Town.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I really need someone to talk to who understands this." Sora began, seemingly rather nervous himself. Leon shifted awkwardly. He really didn't want the boy to start pouring his heart out to him. He wasn't exactly good at dealing with feelings.

"It's just that, I've been looking for Riku for a long time now and…It's starting to get really hard on me." Sora continued, his big blue eyes tearing up, making Leon feel incredibly ill at ease. "Donald and Goofy kept telling me not to worry, that we'll find him, but…it's been so long since I last saw him. I'm worried about what's happened to him. I know King Mickey knows, but he just won't tell me a thing…and I…"

Leon felt horrible just sitting there watching Sora cry, so he reached out hesitantly and mechanically rubbed the boy's back. He had seen others comforting people this way, so he gave it a try. Sora seemed to respond well to it because he leant his head against Leon's chest and began to wail.

"Leon, I love Riku… and I don't think… I'll ever get a chance to tell him!" Sora managed to mumble out through his crying. Leon was taken aback. Sora loved Riku? What about Kairi? He was thoroughly confused.

Leon had no clue what to say, so he sat there awkwardly holding Sora until he stopped crying. Sora sniffled a little bit and looked up at Leon with a sad smile.

"Thanks Leon." He said, but Leon wasn't quite sure what he was thanking him for. In fact, he wasn't sure there was a reason to thank him since he had just sat there watching the boy cry. Apparently it had been enough though.

"If you want you can tell me what's been going on with Cloud…" Sora started, but he was interrupted by a growl from Leon. Leon of course did not noticed he had done that out loud.

"Why do you think there's something going on with Cloud?" Leon asked gruffly.

Sora gazed at him with red-rimmed eyes filled with confusion. "Oh, well, I saw Cloud the other day…"

Leon paled and slumped back against the headboard of his bed. "Oh really…." He murmured. At least that meant the man was ok. He had been rather worried whether he realized it or not.

Sora continued tentatively once seeing Leon's reaction. "When I saw him, he looked rather upset. He kept muttering about something. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything. He told me he was too busy looking for someone to really talk with me and he disappeared."

"Why do you think that had something to do with me?" Leon asked, unable to look in Sora's eyes.

"Well...I think I heard him mutter your name…" Sora admitted, blushing for some reason.

Leon felt his heart skip, but he quickly composed himself. He wanted desperately to ask more questions, but he could already feel Sora's questioning gaze on him. He'd rather not divulge more information to the teenager, so he quickly sat up and made his way to the door.

"See you in the morning." He said quickly as to assure the boy he wasn't mad at him, but he just didn't want to talk.

Sora smiled gently at him. He didn't need Leon to say anything for the feelings were so obvious that they didn't need words.

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Note: I think I may add Tifa and Sephiroth in here sometime soon. Also I'm thinking about doing a Traverse Town fic sometime. Traverse Town is my favorite place in KH. Thank you for reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Oh my. It's been a while. -mutters about writer's block eating her soul- … I want to change the name of this story since I like titles to be relevant. Does anyone have any suggestions?

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Cloud stood at the edge of the vast desert, a deep frown on his pretty pale face. It was absolutely sweltering, so much so he could feel ringlets of sweat trickle down his back. His body felt heavy and his mind wandered lethargically, having difficulty thinking with the discomfort of his surroundings. He really would rather have not been here in the hot sun decked out in long swathes of black material, but that rich vender had told him (for a price) of a tall man with silver hair and one huge ominous wing had been lurking around the Cave of Wonders since the past fortnight. It was just his luck that he'd have to cross miles of dry, scorching sands in search of a man that probably wasn't even there. Cloud highly doubted that Sephiroth would stick around a place like this, but nonetheless he needed to check it out.

"As long as I'm not back with that asshole." Cloud muttered to himself, thinking once again of Squall's strange behavior. Cloud sighed and began trudging through the sands.

Cloud moaned and wiped sweat from his brow. His black clothes absolutely sucked heat from the air and sand was slowly leaking into his boots, grinding in-between his toes in the most irritating way. It was as if by some karmic retribution he was destined to wander these sands for eternity as the sun caressed his pale skin, turning it a lovely shade of pink.

His light blonde bangs fell haphazardly over his soft blue eyes, obscuring them from view. Why was he doing this? To chase after the darkness, right? To find his light? He didn't feel like he was chasing anything, he felt like he was running away from it all.

All of his friends were at home, waiting for him. He was fighting to protect them because Sephiroth was bound to cause trouble, right? He just couldn't stay there all the time because then that bastard might find them. He didn't want to lose any of them. Not ever again. Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and yes even Squall, were very important to him.

Thinking of Squall, the man's weird actions had really thrown him off. That's right, Aerith was rather upset when he had left. He felt terrible for her. He wondered idly how she was doing before his thoughts drifted back to the silent brunette. What was Squall doing him, kissing him? Cloud felt a shiver run through him, but he was quite sure which emotion had caused it.

Squall was not the type of person to act rashly. He seemed to be introverted, calculating man, who took precautions and never rushed foolishly into anything. Cloud needed to get over his embarrassment and find a logical reason for Squall's behavior. This needed to be overcome. He disliked being in squabbles with his friends, and especially over something as awkward as this.

Cloud wiped sweat from his brow, tilting his face away from the sun and began his thought process. First of all, go over specific details of what happened.

"Ok so we were fighting…" He murmured aloud, "Practicing…He was irritated…Something was bothering him maybe. Then I said something about him not understanding me…Hmm…"

Cloud ran his fingers through his hair in one swift movement. "It was almost like he was….pouting…" Cloud muttered, trying to hide his amusement. "Maybe he was trying to get me to notice something. But what?"

Cloud's feet dragged heavily in the sands as he shifted deeper into thought. "He wanted me to notice something so bad that he'd even go so far as to pin me to a wall and kiss me…It must be something big."

Cloud felt a different sort of heat cover his cheeks as he revisited those specific details. Squall had definitely pushed it too far there. It was one thing to get violent, but kiss him? Another man? That was just…well…gay. Cloud didn't imagine Squall being gay, it was just too weird. Cloud had always looked up to Squall, the way he always seemed so sure of himself and he always seemed to know what to do. Cloud wished he could be that way, be a little more sure, but it seemed to him that he was always left hesitating or running away from his problems.

"Just as I am doing now." He muttered. "Squall…you…." He sighed and couldn't finish his sentence. There were things he wished to ask Squall, but he couldn't go back and face his friends yet. He was so worthless. He couldn't show his face to them. All he did was make them sad, both Aerith and Squall, not to mention that the others were probably mad as well.

The look on Squall's face when Cloud had pulled away from him was a photograph in his mind that he couldn't look away from. The look of shock and hurt, twisted him. It was because of his thoughtless reaction that Squall's face had looked so tormented. And Aerith's too. She had always been so kind to him and loved him. He had loved her once, but after her "death" he had felt that part of him die. When the worlds had been thrown into chaos and all the sudden she was there, smiling at him once again, it was almost too good to be true. He had thought that part of him that could love would've been revived along with her, but no emotion had come. It was gone, a thing of the past that he had long forgotten how to feel. That didn't mean he had the right to hurt her, or that he didn't feel sad when she was in pain.

Cloud really just wished this whole mess would just blow over. He wished desperately that when he returned, which he eventually would have to do, that it wouldn't be an issue. But right now he had to focus on the present, as in getting himself out of this desert, which seemed to be an impossible feat.

He was just about to give into the fear of being lost that had been slowly taking over his heart when he crossed a rather large sand dune and saw, with much relief, the dark shadows that so marked the place where the Cave of Wonders stood. He was just about to gratefully make a few more shaky steps, ready to just collapse in the seductive shade, when he heard the sands disturb around him.

Cloud gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was not in the mood to deal with Heartless, and just when he was about to relax too! He quickly grabbed his buster sword from his back, but tipped forward at the sudden shift of weight. Apparently his body was more dehydrated than he realized.

Cloud swore underneath his breath before gaining his balance and looking at the formidable monster that had appeared from the dust. It just wasn't fair! Cloud wanted nothing more than to screw his personality and just let out a frustrated whine, but he steeled himself for battle. This wasn't the time to let heatstroke get to him!

Unfortunately, his body didn't agree with him and after his first parry, he felt his knees collapse underneath his weight.

"Damn….Squall…" He found himself muttering, as if the brunette was the source of all his problems. He attempted to move his arms, but they felt almost detached from his body and before he knew it, his face hit the scorching sands. His eyes focused dimly on the sight of the ominous shadow looming over him, and his lips parted in a little sigh.

This was a lousy way to go, but… Cloud's eyelids fluttered closed just after he saw a flash of silver appear before him. ….There wasn't much he could do about it anyway.

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Leon found that as the days wore on, it was getting harder and harder to live in this morbid silence that had settled in on the group. Aerith was pretty upset with him, but after a while her good nature overtook her and she forgave him. That was only after she had sat him down and had a thorough talk with him.

"We should work more on restoring the bailey," Leon commented over breakfast one morning. He was still exhausted from yesterday, but he didn't want anyone to notice.

"Before we do Leon, could I have a talk with you?" Aerith whispered quietly, and almost pleasantly.

Leon blinked at her in surprise. This was the first time she had spoken to him since the incident. Apparently he wasn't the only one surprised for he heard a collective gasp from the occupants of the table.

"Sure..." He said, somewhat unsure of what she meant. His mind was spinning wildly, entertaining thoughts that she was just plotting to get him away from everyone so she could murder him and chop his body up into tiny bits and feed it to everyone for breakfast.

She stood from the table and gestured for him to follow her into the next room. Yuffie gave him a sympathetic look, that led him to believe he really was in for something horrible.

Leon glanced at Aerith anxiously, feeling uncharacteristically nervous with the woman that he had come to know so well. She was gazing at him with a measuring glance, and he worried that he would somehow not look up to her standards.

"I want you to tell me, Leon." She said quietly, gazing up at him with sorrowful eyes, "I need you to speak the absolute truth. Do you ever plan on pursing a romantic relationship with Cloud?"

Leon bristled with slight anger and embarrassment. "I thought I made it clear I'm not gay." He muttered, running his hands through his hair.

Aerith sighed at him, as though thoroughly exasperated. "I wasn't asking that. I need to you to be completely honest with me because…" her voice faltered, and Leon waited for her to regain her composure. "…because I love him and I don't think I would ever be able to forgive you if you were lying to me now. It's ok to say you want to, I just need to know now."

Leon gazed at her uneasily. He didn't like the direction this conversation was going, not at all. It made him feel…uncomfortable inside, as though there was something he needed to say, something very crucial. But he didn't want a romantic relationship with Cloud, so he shouldn't be worried. That was what was unnerving him, was that he felt like he should express some sort of emotion towards the silent blonde.

He turned and gazed into her tearing eyes, putting one hand on her shoulder. "No, I'm not interested in Cloud at all." He stated simply, feeling his heart pound peculiarly in his chest. This felt so odd. Why?

Aerith sniffled lightly. "Leon, I hope you're telling me the truth. I really do like you after all." She said as she composed herself. She seemed genuinely happier now, as though a huge burden had been lifted from her chest. Funny thing was, Leon felt completely opposite.

"Well, let's get back to breakfast. I'm sorry that I made such a big fuss. I hope you can forgive me." She said lightly, touching his hand before making her way out of the room.

Leon stared after her in disbelief. He really didn't understand her, or girls at all. He sighed and shuffled after her.

Aerith smiled gently at everyone. She was in a rather good mood now, but Yuffie was the opposite. The usually cheerful ninja seemed to be sulking about something. Leon ignored it though, having other things on his mind as he sat back down in his usual spot.

Leon was thoroughly frustrated with this morning and would've liked to have the rest of his breakfast disturbed, but it seemed like he wasn't to get his wish. There was a rather overly loud knock at the door before, whoever feeling to impatient to wait a customary second, burst in regardless of invitation.

"Tifa!" Yuffie cried suddenly and sprang from her seat, greeting a long haired woman who was currently standing in their doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Aerith asked pleasantly, as she too stood and greeted the woman. Even Cid stopped pretending to be such a grump and let a little smile grace his lips.

Leon frowned, feeling left out. He seemed to be the only one here who didn't know this brazen woman who has so rudely interrupted their breakfast. Not one to admittedly pout, Leon simply put on his most unpleasant face and continued to eat his eggs which had long gone cold.

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Note: Sorry, bad chapter ending. . -hands you a cookie shaped like Leon and Cloud kissing- All better?


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